As
indicated by the white lines within our green logo, PSARA covers the
following geographic area within Census Tract 4602 of Altadena:
Palm Street betweenFair
Oaks and Marengo, plus the streets feeding north and south from that
segment of Palm Street: Almond Alley, Ewing, Highview, Raymond,
Pentagon off Raymond, Emerson, and thePoppyfields
cul-de-sac off Emerson.
Please click here to view our "Hello Neighbor" flyer; this pdf file contains a brief introduction to PSARA, including who we are, our history and background, our current areas of focus, and our ongoing activities. Mission:As
a neighborhood association, we are a group of residents who desire to
retain the character and the safety of our quiet and peaceful
residential neighborhood, and assist our fellow neighbors. We
meet regularly, seeking
solutions to neighborhood issues
that affect any one of us, remembering that "injury to one is injury to
all".

Ours is a unique neighborhood within Altadena, with nearly 150 homes that depend solely upon one single street segment,
Palm Street between Marengo and Fair Oaks, for access to and from our
homes. Palm Street issues, therefore, also have a direct impact
upon PSARA residents on
Raymond, Pentagon, Highview and Ewing.
We have worked closely with the Altadena
Town Council from 2008 through 2012 to successfully address the following important neighborhood concern:

News:

October 20, 2016:A
Subdivision Committee Review was held at the Los Angeles County
Department of Regional Planning, to review the revised Tract Maps
for the proposed "Palm Heights" development at 183 - 205 East Palm
Street, Project No. R2014-01586-(5) / Tentative Tract Map 072939.
This was the fifth submittal of Tract Maps since the first submittal in June 2014. The number of proposed
homes remains at 16. Additional modifications to
these submitted Tract Maps will still be needed prior to their approval. Details can be found in the SCM Report dated October 13, 2016.

October 4, 2016: A presentation was made by developers Philip Clarke and Austin Richey to the Land Use Committee of the Altadena Town Council,
describing revised plans for the proposed residential "Palm
Heights" development at 183 - 205 East Palm Street. 16 homes are
currently being proposed, with 7 oak trees to be removed, 2 of which
are healthy trees. Several PSARA members
spoke during the Public Comment portion of ths meeting. Notably
absent from this presentation were 3-D views showing the size of the
proposed homes relative to the existing adjacent homes; these 3-D
renderings have been requested repeatedly by PSARAmembers, as well as by the Land Use Committee during its September 1, 2015 meeting.

May 29, 2016:A
Subdivision Committee Review was held at the Los Angeles County
Department of Regional Planning, to review the revised Tract Maps
for the proposed "Palm Heights" development at 183 - 205 East Palm
Street, Project No. R2014-01586-(5) / Tentative Tract Map 072939.
This was the fourth submittal of Tract Maps since the first submittal in June 2014. The number of proposed
homes remains at 16. Additional modifications to
these submitted Tract Maps will still be needed prior to their approval. Details can be found in the SCM Report dated May 12, 2016.

February 11, 2016:A
Subdivision Committee Review was held at the Los Angeles County
Department of Regional Planning, to review the revised Tract Maps for the "Palm Heights" Project No. R2014-01586-(5) / Tentative Tract Map 072939.
This was the third submittal of Tract Maps since the first submittal in June 2014. The number of proposed homes has now been reduced from 18 to 16. Additional modifications to
these submitted Tract Maps will still be needed prior to their approval. Details can be found in the SCM Reports.

December 12, 2015:PSARA
held its Fifth Annual Holiday Food and Toy Drive on Palm Street,
to benefit the Altadena Sheriff's Station. As usual, this event
was held no matter the weather ("rain, shine, or winds!"). This year's event was documented in this photo collage from Hugo, as well as in this AltadenaNow article.

September 1, 2015: A presentation was made by developers Philip Clarke and Austin Richey to the Land Use Committee of the Altadena Town Council,
describing revised plans for the proposed residential "Palm
Heights" development at 183 - 205 East Palm Street. 17 homes are
currently being proposed, with 8 oak trees to be removed, 3 of which
are healthy trees. Many significant questions were asked by
the members of the Land Use Committee. Several PSARA members
spoke during the Public Comment portion of ths meeting. Major
concerns of the neighbors continue to be density, trees, buffers, and
compatibility with the existing neighborhood. Requests have
been made for 3-D views and renderings, to determine just what will be
seen from the neighboring streets and yards.

January 29, 2015:A
Subdivision Committee Meeting was held at the Los Angeles County
Department of Regional Planning, to review the revised Tract Maps
for 18 homes under Project No. R2014-01586-(5) / Tentative Tract Map 072939. This was the second
submittal of Tract Maps since the first submittal in June 2014. Additional modifications to these
submitted Tract Maps will still be needed prior to their approval.
Details can be found in the SCM Reports.

October 27, 2014:PSARA
representatives met with Philip Clarke and Austin Richey of "Palm
Heights Development, Inc." to discuss revised plans, based
on conditions requested by PSARA neighbors. No progress was made.

September 4, 2014:PSARA
sent a response to Philip Clarke and Austin Richey of "Palm Heights
Development, Inc.", listing several additional neighborhood conditions,
and expressing concern that most of the conditions already proposed by
the neighbors have been denied. A request was made for an
in-person meeting to discuss a revised set of plans that will
substantially address the major concerns of the neighbors.

August 5, 2014:A response to PSARA's list of conditions
was received from Philip Clarke and Austin Richey. The name
for the proposed development is "Palm Heights." PSARA
neighbors were asked to review and comment on this response from "Palm
Heights Development, Inc."

July 17, 2014:A
Subdivision Committee Meeting was held at the Los Angeles County
Department of Regional Planning, to review the revised Tract Maps for
18 homes under Project No. R2014-01586-(5) / Tentative Tract Map 072939. This was the first
submittal of Tract Maps, in June 2014. Additional modifications to these
submitted Tract Maps will be needed prior to their approval. Details
can be found in the SCM Reports.

June 30, 2014:Following significant discussion at a PSARA meeting, PSARA expressed conditional support for the residential development of the 183 - 205 East Palm Street property. A list of 11 conditions
was sent to Philip Clarke, along with requests for clarification on
several unresolved issues. Many of the open issues involve trees,
density, and buffers.

May 21, 2014:Philip
Clarke of Arroyo Pacific Academy, owner of the 183 - 205 East Palm Street property, invited PSARAneighbors
to a Community Meeting at Saint Elizabeth's School in Altadena, to
provide an update on his plans for developing the Palm Street property.
A site plan and an oak tree exhibit were provided by Austin Richey of Victory Contractors.

December 7, 2013:PSARA
held its Third Annual Holiday Food and Toy Drive on Palm Street,
to benefit the Altadena Sheriff's Station. As usual, this event
was held no matter the weather (rain, shine, or winds!), and it
certainly was cold and wet this year, as shown in this group of photos, as well as in an Altadenablog article.

October 29, 2013:Philip
Clarke of Arroyo Pacific Academy, owner of the 183 - 205 East Palm Street property, met with some
neighbors at the Altadena Community Center to describe his plans for
residential development of the property. Preliminary sketches for
the project are shown here. A
CUP will be required for this project, as their are 18 homes projected
for his 2 parcels. Mr. Clarke stated that his property is no
longer for sale on the real estate market.

August 3, 2013: Members of PSARA gathered together in Farmsworth Park to attend a summer concert by PSARA member Brian Hughes and his Band. Altadenablog noted that we wore our red shirts, and Brian wore his red shoes.

May 2, 2013: Both Loopnet and Showcasereport that the
183 - 205 East Palm Street property is "Off-Market". But this may
simply reflect a switch to a multiple listing service, as the property
can still be found on various realtors' websites, under MLS#
320590. Prudential is one such website.

February 2013: The
183 - 205 East Palm Street property has again been put up for sale by Philip Clarke of Arroyo Pacific Academy, for a current asking price of
$4.9 million. Commericial real estate listings can currently be
found on Loopnet and on Showcase. The Showcase listing also contains an old marketing flyer,
with a June 2012 asking price, which correctly points out that a CUP
will be needed for approved commerical use of this property.

January 25, 2013: PSARA
was informed by a representative from The Olson Company that they will
not be moving forward on their residential development project at 183 -
205 East Palm Street, because they have been unable to come to an
agreement with the seller, Mr. Philip Clarke of Arroyo Pacific Academy. A planning meeting
held with the County in December 2012 had identified a maximum number of 19 single-family homes that could be built on this 3.3 acre site.

December 8, 2012: PSARA held its Second Annual Holiday Food and Toy Drive on Palm Street, benefitting the Altadena Sheriff's Station. Altadenablog posted a photo of several PSARA "elves". This year, the Altadena Sheriffs stopped by as the PSARA event ended, and filled the back of their truck with many bags of food and toys, all donated
by PSARA members. Each bag was marked with this holiday greeting, designed by PSARA member (and host for the PSARA Food and Toy Drive) Hugo Arteaga:

November 2012: PSARA
members have noticed some unusual activity at 183 East Palm
Street. It turns out that there is preparation being made for a
2-month filming project, but no filming permit has yet been applied
for.

November 1, 2012: Today
is the day that the Bienvenidos Conditional Use Permit (CUP), number
92023 - (5), originally issued on October 29, 1992, is
terminated. There is now no existing CUP for the 183 - 205 East
Palm Street property.

October 30, 2012: PSARA members again metwith a representative of The Olson Company
at the Altadena Community Center, in order to view a conceptual site
plan for the property to be developed at 183-205 East Palm
Street. Many of the concerns expressed at the October 4 meeting
were addressed in the conceptual plan, including preservation of the
oak trees. Neighborhood concerns were expressed, including density
(again); trees (again); excavation and grading; parking;
characteristics of the new homes and the new street; block walls;
pedestrian access and easement to Raymond Avenue; deconstruction and
construction impacts. At least one more meeting is planned, with
additional details to be presented by The Olson Company, before the "due diligence" period of the escrow ends in mid-December 2012.

October 4, 2012: PSARA members met with a representative of The Olson Company
at the Altadena Community Center, in order to provide neighborhood
input into the site plan being developed for the 183-205 East Palm
Street property. The concerns most often expressed by the
neighbors were: ensuring "low density residential" use of the property
(no more than 6 homes per acre); preservation of the existing trees on
the site; having a buffer between the new homes and the existing homes;
avoiding vehicle access via Raymond Avenue, a narrow private street;
maintaining the existing character of the neighborhood; following the
principles outlined within the Altadena Community Plan document, along with the setback and height restrictions defined within the Altadena Community Standards District document. PSARA
appreciates the opportunity to express the concerns of the neighbors at
this early stage of the project, and looks forward to reviewing the
initial site plan when it becomes available within the next several
weeks.

September 10, 2012: Good news!PSARA has learned that The Olson Company,
a residential development company based in Seal Beach, has entered into
escrow on the property at 183 - 205 East Palm Street. They plan
to build detached single-family homes
on the site. The purchase is contingent upon getting the necessary
permits and plan approvals from the County, which could take perhaps 18
months.

August 25, 2012: PSARA members attended an outdoor evening concert up in Altadena's Farnsworth Park Amphitheater, featuring Jazz Guitarist and Composer (and fellow PSARA member) Brian Hughes with his Band. PSARA members in the audience wore red, as had been a tradition during our successful "No School on Palm" campaign. Altadenablog described Brian's concert, along with a mention of the PSARA members in attendance. Brian's website, with sample tracks from his many CDs, is here.

June 2012: The
183 - 205 East Palm Street property has been put up for sale by Philip Clarke of Arroyo Pacific Academy, for an asking price of
$5.5 million. Commericial real estate listings can currently be
found on Loopnet and on Showcase. The Showcase listing also contains a marketing flyer which points out that a CUP will be needed for approved commerical use of this property.

April 19, 2012: PSARA's long-running "No School on Palm" campaign has now ended successfully. As reported in both Altadenablog and Altadena Patch,
Arroyo Pacific Academy will not appeal the Conditional Use Permit (CUP) denial decision made by the Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning during its April 4, 2012 Public Hearing. PSARA has actively participated during all phases of this CUP application process.
A precedent has now been set, making it unlikely that a school would ever
be permitted to operate on the 183 - 205 East Palm Street property in
this quiet residential area of Altadena. For background information and a chronology of PSARA's2008-2012"No School on Palm" campaign, click here.

December 3, 2011: Just 2 days after the disastrous windstorm hit Altadena, PSARA held its First Annual PSARA
Holiday Food and Toy Drive on Palm Street, using the motto "rain or
shine or power failure." A carload of food and toys, all donated
by PSARA members, was delivered to the Altadena Sheriff's Station. Altadenablog posted a photo of several PSARA "elves", and specifically made note of their red shirts.

November 15, 2011:The Altadena Town Council recognized the many Altadena Neighborhood Watch and Neighborhood Associations at the November Town Council meeting. PSARA was one of several neighborhood organizations honored with a Community Service Award.

Call To Action:
If you are interested in helping your Palm Street Area neighborhood in
maintaining its current peaceful and tranquil character, please send
e-mail to info@AltadenaPSARA.org, and include your name and your street address, so that we at PSARA may contact you, to keep you up-to-date on our areas of focus, and to discuss various ways in which you can help. Thanks!
ACONA:PSARA participates in the Altadena Coalition of Neighborhood Associations (ACONA), whose website can be found here.

AltadenAlert:PSARA is included within "AltadenAlert", the Altadena Sheriff's Station interactive Altadena Neighborhood Watch & Association Map, which can be found here.

Contact:
For additional
information about PSARA,
please send e-mail to